About the book
Autumn has arrived in Alderwick, and Amanda Tomlin is balancing the gallery’s finances with the growing place her own paintings occupy on its walls. One of Virginia Jenkins’s remaining canvases catches the attention of Christina Goodwin: a sleeping mother holding a child, her tiredness plain to see.
Christina works at a supermarket and shares the care of eight-year-old Alythia with the child’s father and her mother, Tracie. The arrangements made after Christina’s separation have become familiar. Now Tracie wants Thursday afternoons for choir and a few days away with friends, and Christina must rethink a week that already feels full.
After the painting finds its new home, the mother’s eyes appear to open. Amanda can confirm the change, but understanding what the family needs takes more than looking closely at a canvas. Meanwhile, her own work and relationship with Gary ask her to think about the space she needs too.
The fifth book in The Gallery of Unfinished Goodbyes explores the affection and friction between three generations, with gentle humour, ordinary kindness and a little unexplained magic.
